The Arsenal vs Atletico Madrid – Time to keep the winning run going
After another important win in the league on Saturday, attention now turns to the Champions League were Arsenal have started quite well so far. Two wins from win has lifted them up to fifth in the league so a win against Atletico would be a fantastic start to the European campaign. I think it’s fair to say that this is probably the hardest game Arsenal have faced in the Champions League, so far this season and one of the three hardest games of the round as whole, so this is going to be a real test for the Gunners. I must admit, I haven’t watched a lot of Atletico Madrid over the past few seasons, but historically they’ve always played a very defensive and tactical game so our attacking game is really going to have to be on point to breach their defence. In the grand scheme of things, a draw is not a disaster but it would be really nice to keep the winning run going and really cement our position in the all-important top 8 positions in the new league format.
Areas of encouragement
Arsenal’s home record continues to be strong, so they will look to make the most of home advantage here, with the Emirates faithful sure to be in good voice, as they usually are for these big European nights.
Our defence is also an area of great encouragement as we are yet to concede a goal in the Champions League this season and only conceding three goals in all competitions.
Areas of concern
It’s been a while since we last played against Atletico Madrid, but historically we have struggled with the way Diego Simeone sets up his team and we will also need to be very wary of the in-form Julian Alvarez, who has been banging in goals in both La Liga and Champions League this season.
What I’d love to see
An early goal would really swing the game in our favour, as Atletico would be forced to come out and play, which would open space for our attackers to exploit. What would be absolutely perfect would be an early goal to be scored by Viktor Gyokeres, who is in dire need of a boost.
What I’d hate to see
Aside from a defeat, I’d really hate to see a nil-nil or for the game to be decided on some ridiculous European handball decision, where one of our players is penalised for having two arms.
Lineup and Team News
It feels like we could do with resting a couple for this one, but with the quality of opposition that we are facing, I wouldn’t be surprised if Mikel Arteta went with an unchanged team from the weekend. I would have thought that Mikel Merino might start somewhere though, with either Declan Rice or Martin Zubminedi making way. I’d go with Declan Rice starting on the bench and Merino playing alongside Eberechi Eze and Martin Zubimendi. We could look to rest Eze, but with the playmaker only playing 60 minutes against Fulham, he should be fresh enough to take his place in the number 10 position. The fullbacks are another area that could see change however, I think Arteta will resist and go with Calafiori and Timber and maybe look to bring them off later in the game. We don’t play again until Sunday at 2pm, so that should play a big part in the selection process and is why I think we’ll go so strong. Piero Hincapie should take his place on the bench for the first time since his groin injury and could be an option late on. There should also be one place on the bench for an academy player, who I expect to be 17 year-old striker Andre Harriman-Annous, as he has trained with the first team a lot lately.
Predicted lineup:
Raya
Timber
Saliba
Gabriel
Calafiori
Zubimendi
Merino
Eze
Saka
Gyokeres
Trossard
Substitues:
Kepa
Setford
Hincapie
White
Mosquera
Lewis-Skelly
Norgaard
Nwaneri
Rice
Martinelli
Dowman
Harriman-Annous
PREDICTION I could see this being a really tough game and as I said above, I wouldn’t be devasted if we drew this one. That said, I’d love to see our winning run continue so I’m going for a tight